Daily Log

Woke up about 7:30. Read a bit of Maza on Foucault, finishing the penultimate chapter, leaving one more on postmodernism. Tried going back to sleep, but couldn't. Gave up with an 85 on the meter, a bit over 4 hours. Just too much shit to think about. Dinner Monday, for instance: I've decided to just do a pad thai, with whatever extras I can find. I have some "biscuit-cut" country ham, and I noticed a small bag of langostinos in the freezer. I have pressed bean curd I didn't use for Indonesian. I have lots of old sausages. I can throw in a bell pepper. Squid? I was thinking about ways to juice up the sauce. For some reason, Gretchen wants to bring a salad. That could be a nice complement to what otherwise would be my one-dish special. I could contribute there. I have various crunchy bits for Burmese, and I have several peanut sauce options. I should write her. I'm thinking oatmeal-stout cake would be nice. I spied a Guinness in the basement the other day, and think I have an unexpired can of sweetened condensed milk. Pairs well with butter pecan ice cream. I'm hoping to avoid a grocery store run.

When I woke up, I discovered that the patio door was open. Not a big problem with the screen door, but unsettling. I swapped the air cleaners, so I can take the old one up to the attic. Doug isn't coming over until around 2, so I have quite a bit of time to get things organized to work today. I'm hoping to get the south corridor decked, and the 2x4 extenders spread out. We also need to check out the power washer, and see if he works with the railing. I'm not in a huge hurry to take the railing down, but it would be good to clean it in place before having to store it. Still, my set up shouldn't take long, so I have a few hours for Loose Tabs (assuming I can stay awake).

Email (10 messages):

Daily Log

I'm trying to get a handle on how much lumber I need to buy for the attic and carport. Carport is pretty simple:

• Pressure-treated 2x4 or 2x6 (if we want a wider base): 44 ft (12 + 20 + 12).
• Pressure-treated 1x4 (to edge around outside): 44 ft (12 + 20 + 12).
• Pressure-treated 4x4 (for up to 12 short posts), 12 ft.

The attic is more complicated. We initially need enough wood to cover the south corridor, extending joists east and west from corridor.

• 2x4 37 long * 7 = 4 sticks
• 0.75 plywood 47.5 x 157.5 = 2 4x8 sheets
• 2x4 96 long * 14 = 14 sticks
• up to 4 4x8 sheets of something to cover that part of roof. I'm considering 1-inch xps (dense) foam topped with underlayment.
• North area is 79 x 144 (or more), so 3 4x8 sheets 0.75-inch plywood
• 2x4 support for 3 sheets is 8 sticks

Total shopping:

• 8 foot 2x4: 26 @ $4 = $104
• 0.75-inch plywood 4x8 sheets: 5 @ $40 = $200
• 1-inch xps 4x8 sheets: 4 @ 25 = $100
• 0.25-inch underlayment 4x8 sheets (e.g., 5.24mm luan): 4 @ $25 = $100
• 2x4x8 pressure treated: 6 @ $5 = $30
• 1x4x8 pressure treated: 6 @ $4 = $24
• 4x4x8 pressure treated: 2 @ $12 = $24

Some reference data:

• A 2' x 4' panel of 1/2-inch plywood can support 30-40 lbs without additional support. 1/4-inch supports 5-15 lbs. 3/4 inch supports 50-75 lbs per square foot. A 2' x 2x' panel can hold 50-100 lbs without additional support.
• 3/4-inch foam board (extruded polystyrene, XPS) has a compressive strength of abourt 25 psi. Expanded polystyrene (EPS) is rated lower, at 10 psi.
• OSB is stronger in shear strength, but plywood is stronger in compression, tension, and bending.

I wrote that up last night, and need to copy it down for my shopping list. Also need some screws, mostly short ones for hangers and long ones for going through the 2x4s longways. We don't need to buy it all at once, but should have enough to get started. I need to check the railing today to make sure 2x4 is big enough for the mounting.

Got up after 10. Sun is out, and temperature is headed toward 60°F, so should be a nice day to get some work done. I replaced the basement UPS yesterday, swept some more, moved the vacuum up to 2nd floor, and swept around the attic door. I haven't moved the air filter in yet. I'm a bit worried that it may stir up as much as it removes. I expect today and tomorrow will focus on attic/carport work, at least during the day. At some point I may just decide to dump Loose Tabs. I have no hope of making it feel complete. Still have poll work. I put off my chance to make dinner from Saturday to Monday, when it's supposed to rain again. It will be nice to unwind a bit then. I'm not going to do full Indonesian then. I'm thinking more like pad thai plus a couple Indonesian sides. Something fairly simple for dessert.

Email (15 messages):

• New ballots: Rob Shepherd, Mark Corroto, Jeffrey St Clair
• New voter recommendations, from: Philip Booth.
• Allen Lowe complains: "Strange interlude: NEA Jazz Master Patrice Rushen?

Doug & I went shopping for wood today, at Menard's. I hadn't been in there since shortly after it opened, but it does seem to have more stuff at lower prices than Lowe's or Home Depot. I wound up spending $660, which in addition to all the lumber above included a bunch of screws. Shopping took a long time. We went out around 2, and didn't get back until after 5. Then we had to unload it all, into the garage and shed. I never quite finished sorting out all the spare lumber, but it was organized enough to not be much of a problem. Doug is coming back tomorrow afternoon, so we should get a few hours of work in.

I had the idea tonight that maybe I need more support under the foam boards, so thought of going out to Lowe's and buying a bunch of furring strips and laying them across the extended joists. But that raised the question of how many? If I didn't space them out, I might as well use plywood. If I space them out, what do I do with the gaps over the 2x4s? I talked to Steve, and decided my original idea seems all right. In any case, I can loose fit some panels to see how firm them seem. I also considered going out to grocery shop, but again it got too late. I've agreed to fix dinner Monday, but have no real clue what I want to make. Original thought was a redo of the Indonesian birthday dinner, but right now that's been reduced to a pad thai, maybe a couple sides, and something undetermined for dessert. I've even considered the possibility of not shopping, and just throwing something together from the pantry. Lots of cakes I can make from scratch. One could do far worse than a brownie sundae. And I can throw damn near anything into a pad thai. Gretchen says she'll bring over a salad anyway, so should complement ok.

Daily Log

Woke up a couple times during the night, but didn't get up until after 10. A carpenter was supposed to come by around 9 to look at the soffits. That probably coincided with a bout of dog barking. When I did get up I noticed a roofer sign near the curb. We're still talking details, like shingle colors, and possible final charges are still up in the air, but I guess that's official. I haven't talked to Hometown since deciding. I did talk to DHI, and they took rejection in stride.

I misplaced my sketch of the attic, leading to some agonized searching, but finally found it upstairs, under some tools. If I can get away from the computer, I plan to do some sweeping in the basement, replace the UPS there, move the hose up to the first floor for a quick sweep, then on to the second floor, so I can vacuum around the attic entrance. I bought a new air cleaner, so I'm going to put it in the bedroom, and move the old one to the attic. Airborne particles are super-obvious up there with a headlamp on. I doubt any amount of air cleaning will help much, but it should help a little. I need to convert the drawing into a shopping list, so we can go out and get lumber. It rained yesterday from mid-afternoon through the night. Not raining now, but still overcast. We can wait until the weather clears up to work on that, and also on the carport. So not today.

Aside from cleaning, today is probably just Loose Tabs and Poll. Email (48 messages):

• Poll acks: Fotis Nikolakopoulos.
• Poll ballots: Sanford Josephson.
• John Chacona and Jon Garelick suggested new voters. I've started a "Jazzpoll 25 Adds" address book.

Daily Log

Didn't get to sleep last night until 4AM. Watched the last two episodes of Death by Lightning. I read one piece on historical accuracy, plus some Wikipedia. The phrase "stalwart" was bugging me, and their villainizing of Conklin seems to have confused the issue. Blaine was hardly a reformer, even if his hatred for Conklin and Conklin's corruption was true. The missing man here was Rutherford Hayes, whose betrayal of Reconstruction was less ideological but more final than Andrew Johnson's. The stalwarts opposed Hayes on fairly progressive political grounds, which is a big part of why Grant fit into their designs. That his administration was mired in corruption may also have appealed to Conklin, but in the end hurt their cause.

Email (30 messages):

• I ordered a small UPS from Amazon. The one in the basement for the camera system is on the fritz. Should arrive today. I have extra batteries that might work, but also have one in the dining room that we're currently bypassing. I need to figure both out.
• TomDispatch: Mattea Kramer: "An Unexpected Con to End Free Speech: How Trump Uses Jews."
• Project Syndicate: two articles I'd be tempted to read if I could: Ben Steil: "Free Trade Can't Bring Peace" ("shows that globalization always depended on global security, not the other way around"); and Angus Armstrong/Dennis J Snower, "The Stablecoin Threat" ("major risks associated with the growth of privately issued dollar-backed digital tokens"). Also: "The AI Bubble's Shaky Math"; "The G20 Can No Longer Postpone Debt Relief" ("urges members to devise a framework that would reduce Africa's liabilities and enable its green transition"); Jeffrey Frankel: "The Trouble With Abundance" ("advises US Democrats that their political salvation lies in acknowledging the reality of scarcity").
• Tom James will come by this afternoon with shingles. Still waiting for estimates on remaining work (soffit vents, mini-split).
• Moody wrote back, saying "to remove and reinstall that heat pump, you are looking at $500-$600 max. To install a new mini-split, you are probably in the ballpark of $5000-$5500." Tempted to write back that those prices are insane. Google shows Mitsubishi WR 9000 BTU for $1278.99, JX 9000 BTU for $1616, another 9000 BTU for $1330. GotDuctless starts at $1533, with some models up to $2636. Ecomfort has one for $1367 + $250 for "installation starer kit, which gets you 15 ft of tubing. Most Mitsubishi mini-splits use 230V, which would cost extra to install, but some models are 115V. Fujitsu 9000 BTU units draw 8-12 amps, 110V. Over 18000 BTU require 220V. It took my installer about 4 hours to do the original install, plus 1 hour for the electrician. If we can use 115V, we don't need the electrician. A big part of the install was mounting the inside unit and running the pipes through the wall. Most of that work is reusable. Maybe there's added expense in capturing the old coolant (i.e., you can't just cut the pipes and throw them in the trash). I wrote back, citing some of this, but keeping options open.
• RiotRiot: more new albums to listen to.

I opened up my next Loose Tabs post file. No date yet, but should appear before Monday's Music Week. I figured I'd start plugging away on it today, but by 7 pm hadn't gotten anything more done, and was tied up in other things.

One pleasant surprise was to find a reposting of my 2005 labels piece on Organissimo. Maybe I should dust it off and do a "big lookback"?

Daily Log

I did finally post Music Week last night, before I turned into a pumpkin. We watched the second Garfield episode last night. I should check some pieces on what is and is not historically accurate. I know the names of Blaine and Conkling, and Chester Arthur of course, but Hancock and Sherman (not the general) are drawing blanks. Got up at 10, thinking about the roof project. Quote for carport came in more expensive than I had expected. A big chunk of the difference was $385 to move and reconnect the mini-split. I was hoping they could just work around it. Now I need to call Moody's and see what they have to say about this. Looks like the soffit vents will be cut into the existing soffit material, then covered up with grids. That won't look as nice as it would if they replaced the existing soffits with vented material. Connie recommended Antique Slate for color, followed by Black Walnut. I'm still leaning towards Rustic Black. I wrote Tom James about samples, and the mini-split question. Playing Jeff Tweedy as I write this, which will take 2 hours and be merely good.

Got up at 10. I still need to catch up with several ballots. Also finish sending the last few invites. And write Terry Gross about possible articles. And send out notice to publicists. The poll is going to be a full-time job into January, making it impossible to go anywhere or do anything else. Laura's Boston friends are coming on Dec. 1 for 2-3 days, so I will have to take time to entertain them. That shouldn't be a problem, and may be a welcome respite.

Email (23 messages):

• Poll ballots, leftover: Sergio Piccirilli, Scott Yanow, Paui Medrano, Martin Schray, Dan Polletta, Hank Shteamer; new: Matthieu Jouan.
• Poll acks: Mirian Arbalejo.

Daily Log

I didn't finish Music Week by our TV break (first episode of Death by Lightning, about James Garfield and his killer), and once again had no energy to finish after. I need to wrap that up today. I did write quite a spiel about my workload. I started to pull together the jazz and non-jazz EOY files, just enough so I can link to them. And I mentioned the Metacritic/EOY Aggregate, an ongoing project that is falling behind. I didn't get to the music coverage, or Todd Snider.

I subscribed names for jpmedia, but didn't send anything out. I canceled welcome notices, as I figured that would be unnecessary confusion. I can explain all of that in my first message. I started to add my third ballot, but didn't get that done. I did post the notice on Christgau's Todd Snider "big lookback," but only after starting and stopping several times. My head is already spinning with this stuff. I just went off and looked up the possibility of adding a Bluesky handle for the poll. Looks like I can add it to my account, but it might be preferable if we match it to a domain name (which we don't have yet, but have talked about).

Roofer didn't come over yesterday with updated quotes. We didn't pick out a color, but I don't think the red/brown/tan ones work, and the pewter is too light (lighter, or at least brighter, than the gray siding). That leaves us with dark gray: either Rustic Black or Black Walnut (the latter seems to have some brown mixed in, but is still darker than what we have). I've used Tamko's "visualizer," but it isn't very good. It does suggest that the current dark gray we have leans more toward blue. Unlerss he shows up, I'll email Tom James with some kvetching on this. It seems like other brands have more uniform colors, so maybe we can switch? Only reason not to go with the black is the extra heat absorption, but the roofers tend to discount that, and we should wind up with better ventilation.

Laura wants to go out to shop this afternoon, so that will interrupt the day. Otherwise, I should catch up with the paper flow. I woke up around 8, with pretty severe pain in my right foot toes. I stubbed them yesterday, tripping over the kitchen stool. The toes look ok (no bruises), and I can maneuver them without pain, which I take as nothing broken. I took some pain reliever, read some, then went back to bed, and didn't get up until 11:30. Read a bit in the Maza book about "public history," which included a bit on the 1993-95 Smithsonian Enola Gay streit. It occurs to me that I could write a theses-style post on WWII and A-bomb use. Or I could put that off until I look through the Graff book, which covers a lot of the controversy.

Email (34 messages):

• More links from Mazin Qumsiyeh.
• Poll acks: Peter Quinn.
• Poll ballots: Paul Medrano, Martin Schray, Dan Polletta.
• Amazon refund on Indonesian Cooking Around the World. I thought I got a notice that the book had been shipped. Used thing from 3rd-party seller, so we'll wait and see.
• Tom Engelhardt: A President Delivering Us to World's End?
• Farmers Insurance is selling insurance for "up to 4 mobile phones plus nearly all your home electronics for just $34.99/month*." Not sure which part of that sentence is most insane.
• Connie Bonfy wrote back about roof colors. I dashed off a reply, and a letter to Tom James on samples and some post concerns. Later Connie wrote: "if Antique Slate is an option - it is the best. Otherwise, I recommend Black Walnut."
• Dan Weiss (RiotRiot) interviews Danny Brown.

Music Week

Expanded blog post, November archive (in progress).

Tweet: Music Week: 35 albums, 6 A-list

Music: Current count 45155 [45120] rated (+35), 12 [16] unrated (-4).

New records reviewed this week:

• Ata Kak: Batakari (2025, Awesome Tapes From Africa): [sp]: B+(***)
• Bloomers: Cyclism (2022-23 [2025], Relative Pitch): [sp]: B+(***)
• Christer Bothén: Christer Bothén Donso N'goni (2022-23 [2025], Black Truffle): [bc]: B+(**)
• Juan Chiavassa: Fourth Generation (2024 [2025], Whirlwind): [cd]: B+(***)
• The Cosmic Tones Research Trio: The Cosmic Tones Research Trio (2025, Mississippi): [sp]: B+(*)
• Eddie Daniels: To Milton With Love (2025, Resonance): [sp]: B+(**)
• Amir ElSaffar: New Quartet Live at Pierre Boulez Saal (2023 [2025], Maqām): [sp]: B+(***)
• Brian Eno & Beatie Wolfe: Lateral (2025, Verve/Opal): [sp]: B+(*)
• Steve Gunn: Daylight Daylight (2025, No Quarter): [sp]: B+(**)
• Lafayette Harris Jr.: All in Good Time (2025, Savant): [sp]: B+(**)
• The Kasambwe Brothers: The Kasambwe Brothers (2025, MASS MoCA): [sp]: A-
• Dave Liebman/Billy Hart/Adam Rudolph: Beingness (2023 [2025], Meta/Defkaz): [sp]: B+(**)
• Russ Lossing: Proximity Alert (2025, Blaser Music): [sp]: B+(**)
• Gurf Morlix: Bristlecone (2025, Rootball): [sp]: A-
• Maren Morris: Dreamsicle (2025, Columbia): [sp]: B+(***)
• Van Morrison: Remembering Now (2025, Exile/Virgin): [sp]: B+(**)
• Willie Nelson: Workin' Man: Willie Sings Merle (2025, Legacy): [sp]: A-
• Red River Dialect: Basic Country Mustard (2024 [2025], Hinterground): [sp]: B+(***)
• Ted Rosenthal Trio: Classics Reimagined: Impromp2 (2024 [2025], TMR): [cd]: B+(**)
• Saint Pierre: Luck and Gravity (2025, Mutchcrud Music): [sp]: B+(***)
• Amanda Shires: Nobody's Girl (2025, ATO): [sp]: A-
• Todd Snider: High, Lonesome and Then Some (2025, Aimless): [sp]: A-
• Spinifex: Maxximus (2025, Trytone): [cd]: B+(***)
• Tortoise: Touch (2025, International Anthem): [sp]: B+(**)
• Beatie Wolfe & Brian Eno: Luminal (2025, Verve/Opal): [sp]: B+(**)
• Beatie Wolfe & Brian Eno: Liminal (2025, Verve/Opal): [sp]: B+(**)

Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries:

• Nahawa Doumbia: Vol. II (1982 [2024], Awesome Tapes From Africa): [sp]: B+(***)
• Ø: Sysivalo (2047-17 [2025], Sähkö): [sp]: B

• Jean Schwarz: Unreleased & Rarities (1972-2002) (1972-2002 [2025], Transversales Disques): [bc]: B+(***)

• Zig-Zag Band: Chigiyo Music Kings 1987-1998 (1987-98 [2025], Analog Africa): [sp]: A-

Old music:

• Don Cherry/Jean Schwarz: Roundtrip (1977): Live at Théâtre Réccamier, Paris (1977 [2023], Transversales Disques): [bc]: B+(***)
• Tortoise: Millions Now Living Will Never Die (1995 [1996], Thrill Jockey): [sp]: B+(***)
• Tortoise: Tortoise (1994, Thrill Jockey): [sp]: B+(*)

Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:

• None.

Looking into the mini-split issue. It looks like we have a Fujitsu AOU9R2 (9700 BTU 14.3 SEER heat pump), installed by Custom Heating in 2013, for $2375. This included a 115V circuit. Bedroom is 12x20, which with closets and cove extends to 24, so max 288 sq ft, with a ceiling height of 93 inches, three large windows, storm door to carport porch. I also considered a more expensive 12000 BTU bid. Calculators indicate that 7500 BTU could be sufficient. Unit has worked well for most of 12 years, requiring service once when drain was blocked, causing inside unit to drip, and coolant was low, causing freeze-up. Before that, I also replaced the insulation on the coolant tubing, which had become worn. Currently the drain tube outside is cracked and needs replacing. Insulation is probably ok, but showing a bit of age. We used the unit fairly lightly last summer, and it performed well.

Roofer wants to move the unit out of the way. Estimate includes $385 for moving the unit. The roofer uses Fenix for HVAC work, and seems pretty uncertain about the whole procedure. I've had repairs done by Moody, so I'm looking into that. It looks like the procedure for moving is to attempt to pump the coolant back into the outdoor unit, and seal it there. Then you can disconnect the tubing. To put it back together, you'd have to vacuum pump the tubing/indoor unit, then reconnect, possibly adding more coolant. All that requires specialized equipment. I'm going to check with Moody for an estimate. Given the age of the unit, this raises the question of whether we should replace it. It looks like a new Fujitsu 9000 BTU unit is around $2200, although there are other less expensive brands. The installation of a new unit should be about the same as moving the old unit, given the need to recover the old coolant.

I wrote the following to Moody:

I have a Fujitsu Halcyon AOU9R2 mini-split (9000 BTU, installed 2013). You've done some work on it, including adding coolant 2-3 years ago. It's worked fine since. It sits on a patio on top of a carport next to our upstairs bedroom. We've had hail damage, and the roofer wants to put a new mod-bit layer on the carport/patio. I've suggested working around the unit, but they're thinking it would be best to move it out of the way, fix the roof, and reinstall it. So first question is how much would you charge to do that? There would be several days between moving it out and reinstalling it. Second is whether it would make more sense to put a new unit in, and how much would that cost? Although the current unit has a heat pump, we've only ever used it for cooling.

Daily Log

I woke up at nine, in a cascading series of nightmares. The first had me looking at a sink, which had a garbage disposal underneath. I'd turn the disposal on, and the sink surface would be plastic and start to bulge up, like a balloon. When I turned it off, it deflated. When I turned it on again, it bulged even more ominously, like it was ready to explode. I peeked into the cabinet beneath the sink, and found swarms of buzzing insects, behind a haze of web. I asked Laura to bring me the vacuum, but she ran into a second pod of insects. Somehow, I did get the vacuum, and was able to suck up most of the insects. But then I sensed a wave of alarm, as news came in that "the big one" had hit California, which was no more.

I never made a point to write these dreams down before, but this one was odd and graphic, and I woke up rather abruptly just before 9. The bathroom was occupied, so I dressed and came downstairs. I finished the "What" chapter in Maza, which talks about how historians came to write not just about humans but about things and finally the rest of the world: nature.l That concluded "part one" of the book, on the domain of history, to be followed by a "part two" on how (and possibly why?) history is written.

I got all but a half-dozen of the ballot invites sent out yesterday. This was up about 60 from the initial mailing last year, reflecting all the late adds to last year's list. I don't expect to be as aggressive about adding new voters this year, but we could rather easily add another 60 invites by the time all is said and done. I've already added a couple based on voter recommendations. I've collected the DownBeat voter list, and I'm about 75% through noting and often adding their names to my voter log file. Some of these people are complete unknowns, but some popped up last year in discussions with publicists, and I already have a few email addresses for them. I should finish that list today. I also need to populate the jpmedia list (I have 32 names of publicists ready to go), and send them an initial message. Main topic there will be prospecting. Again, that sould happen today.

I took my library books back. They changed their policy and stopped collecting daily fines, although I was prepared to pay. I scanned through the new 14-day nonfiction, and picked out:

• Peter Beinart, Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning
• Dave Barry, Class Clown: The Memoirs of a Professional Wiseass: How I Went 77 Years Without Growing Up
• Garrett M Graff, The Devil Reached Toward the Sky: An Oral History of the Making & Unleashing of the Atomic Bomb
• Paul McFedries, Google Workspace for Dummies

The first two are good examples of books I'd be interested in but wouldn't feel compelled to buy. Beinart is wrapped up in his Jewishness to a degree I find unfathomable, but he has genuinely learned from his early errors in promoting the War on Terror to do decent and honorable work, especially since the Gaza Endlösung started in earnest. I've often argued that Israel's reflexive fans are making a horrible, self-defeating mistake in embracing de facto genocide. Beinart's a prime example of someone who loves Israel and for that reason opposes its current course. Still, I don't need the book to get that point.

I've read a lot of Barry over the years, and even quote him on occasion. I wasn't aware of this one, but it's probably worth a quick thumb through, and might make a pleasant diversion. But it's hardly a priority for my work. Graff looks like a terrific book, and long and dense enough that I'm going to be hard pressed to get through it, but it might be something to buy and savor later. I should also take a look at his 9/11 oral history at some point, if only as an aide de memoire. The Google book just follows up on some online research I did last week. Is this a service worth paying for? Hard to tell, as it combines much I don't need or want with some things that might turn out to be useful. No way I'm reading this through, but I figured it might help to get an overall sense. Or at least it wouldn't hurt. I rarely find time to get through library books. My best experiences have been with slim books that are slightly off my radar. Last time I checked out Marcel Dirsus: How Tyrants Fall, which I read about 50 pages from but included in my NOEL post, and Noah Giansiracusa's Robin Hood Math, a math book which intrigues me — I've learned a lot over the years from topical books about math — but the brief look I managed hasn't really convinced me to order a copy.

Having finally gotten through to AT&T about removing the old phone lines, I got texts first promising 1-8 business days, then another fixing the date as 11/26, like they were planning on dragging it out as long as possible. But one of their linemen showed up late this morning, and took everything out, except for a Cox coax cable. I'll still have to get them out. Looks to me like we also have a couple problems with trees tangled up both with cable and the power line. Cox should fix their problem, but I should get a tree person out to clean various things up, of which that is definitely one.

Email (31 messages):

• Jazz poll acks from: Scott Albin, John Moore
• Ballots from: Mike Greenblatt
• Robert Christgau: Big Lookback on Todd Snider
• Foreigner and Lynyrd Skynyrd announce the Double Trouble Double Vision Tour, which kicks off in Atlanta and ends in Rogers, AR
• Braithwaite & Katz year in review
• New Substack subscriber (also liked Sanders I post)

Daily Log

I realized late last night that I failed to take my library book back on the due date. Everything else had been automatically renewed, so I'm down to just the one discrepancy. I should take the bunch back today, and pay whatever the fine is. I spent all day yesterday going over voter lists. I got about half way through the DownBeat voter list, adding notes and previously unknown names to my voter-log file. But as it got late, I decided to stop trying to expand my list and go ahead and run out a batch of ballots. MailMerge processed the address book and generated 287 draft messages. I've slowly been sending them out since then. Down to 211 at the moment. I looked for a way to automate this, and found a Thunderbird extension called Send Later, but it doesn't seem to work (at least with messages already in your Drafts folder; the button appears, but is grayed out). [PS: I see now how to use it, but it's pretty clunky. What I'd like is something that would let me give it a list of draft messages, then send them out at random intervals.]

Got up thinking of overwhelming amounts of work I have to do. I did sign the agreement with Arambula for the roof yesterday. There are still some bits where I'm waiting on bids, so this may wind up costing another $2000 over the quote. With this, I can proceed on working on the attic and the carport railing. Quite a bit of work to do on both, but I'm looking forward to it.

Email (10 messages):

• Allen Lowe on "the music of jazz musicians who died young." Singles out: Dudu Pukwana (52), Arthur Rhames (32), Dave Tough (41), promising "more soon." (I'm just subtracting years for ages. Surprised to see Pukwana, given that Monghezi Feza died at 30. What I was actually expecting was even younger deaths, like Bubber Milley.)
• Invite bounces: John Corbett (saic account inactive, trying corbettvsdempsey).

Daily Log

Stayed up to 3 last night, but just barely. I was pretty wiped out. Got up about 9, and read some more in Maza. A big part of why I know as much about history as I do was that early on I developed a habit of reading around the monographs: books about other books (like David Hackett Fischer's Historians Fallacies, and John Garraty's interviews with historians), as well as jumping around in footnotes, which give you cross-references not just to original sources but to other interpretations, and where the author has more leeway to comment. Maza's book is mostly a book about other books, so it's interesting to see what she picks out, especially from the left (EP Thompson, Benedict Anderson). The section on "where" includes Turner's border hypothesis, the more unified Atlantic of works on the slave trade, and Timothy Snyder's Bloodlands.

I talked to Steve last night, mostly about my grill troubles, and my attic/carport plans. Two thoughts this morning: I need to get him an email address; I should recheck with him about cad programs, and see if I can come up with something I can use to draw out the attic project. Doug came over yesterday, and we took some measurements of the attic. My drawing is pretty crappy, but probably good enough to get a rough idea of materials. Still, would be nice to be able to fit more details in, and to keep the proportions right. My drawing has the measurements for the chimney, but not enough space to locate it on the map. I know he's working with something that is cloud-based, which among other things he uses for 3D printer parts fabrication. First google suggests there are lots of options. One called Crafty Amigo, intended for woodworking projects (ranging from furniture to structures like sheds and a chicken coup) looks like a good match for my immediate needs. I had a house design program back in PC days, but never had the patience to use it for much. I have even less patience these days, but perhaps the software is better.

Today is the day I wanted to send jazz poll ballots out. I still haven't done my preliminary voter list scan, nor have I looked at Paul Medrano's spreadsheet, so that's another deadline I've blown. I should really focus on that today. One thing I did yesterday was to order a bunch of stuff from Amazon. I'm getting two fancy fusion cookbooks, claiming to be American cuisine, but based on the melting pot notion (so, for instance, one has a baba gannouj recipe with miso instead of tahini, for an "only in America" effect). I also ordered some project items: a cheap hard hat (attic space is cramped, and lots of nails come through the rafters), a mid-to-high-end set of knee pads (I couldn't find mine yesterday), a box of nail plates (I'm thinking I can use them for laying 2x4s as extenders to attic joists; I was looking for something with spikes on both sides; these only have spikes on one, but also have screw holes, so I figure I could screw one to the bottom of a 2x4, then pound the whole board down on the joist; it won't be great, but could suffice for initial placement, which could then be further secured with long screws), and a set of pipe cleaners, some as long as 61-inches (I wanted something like that for cleaning the grill burner tubes). Most of that stuff should come today, so that's a good excuse to hold off on the grill another day. My plan there is to reassemble everything, then try to fire it up again. If that works, I may still want to replace the igniter. If it doesn't, I'll trash the whole thing.

I also ordered a new air filter, a Winix 5510, top-rated on the first comparison I looked at. I was rather shocked by the amount of airborne crap in the attic — it was highly visible using the headlamps — which got me thinking about air cleaners. The Idyllis ones I use are quite old but basically work. I could have looked for something cheap to handle the attic grossness, or something fancier to replace what I have and free it up for use in the attic. When I've looked at air cleaners before, I've been hit by the sticker shock, but this one came in at $175, with filter replacements running about $25, which seems like a pretty good deal. Second option was a Conway for $142 that also looks pretty good.

Email (8 messages, mostly Amazon notices):

• Shock Hosting informs me that they're moving their Chicago servers, so my websites will be down on December 1, from 10 AM CST, for approx. 6-8 hours. They're offering the option of moving accounts to Dallas, either temporarily or permanently, if contacted by Nov. 24. This "will requier an IP/DNS change but less than an hour of downtime that can be scheduled at your convenience."

Daily Log

Having cleaned up my old Weber gas grill, I figured there were two possible problems left: the tank had leaked, leaving me short of gas; and igniter wasn't working. As one can ignite the gas with a match, the first step was to get a new tank, with new gas. There's a swap program for about $25, so that should be easy. I took my old tank down to Ace, and brought a "new" tank home. The person at Ace commented that my tank looked "brand new." It was 24 years old, and had been refilled 5-8 times during that duration (probably closer to 5, and maybe not even that). I noted that it weighed as much as the "new" tank. When I brought it home, I hooked it up, and noticed that I had been reading the tank gauge wrong. I thought my tank was nearly empty, but I now saw that it was nearly full. Hence my theory of not enough gas seemed like a mistake.

I reassembled enough of the unit to fire it up. I had to use a lighter, but the front burners lit up. Not very strong or consistent, but there was fire. I noticed that the cross tube at the far end was used for the crossover ignition. I turned the middle burner gas on, and it caught fire, albeit even less strongly than the front one. I then tried the back burner, and didn't notice any ignition there. I still haven't disassembled the manifold, and there is a rubber tube and a metal valve still between the tank and the manifold. The former is pretty effectively sealed. It's unlikely that gunk or spiders got into it. I finally got the burners out, and gave them a good cleaning.

Now what? I'm feeling like a total failure, with little or no recourse. Only thing that occurs to me is that I only turned the gas to the 90° "light" setting. Maybe I needed to turn the valve beyond that once the burner was lit? I reread the manual last night, and they make a big point of testing the gas connections for leaks, using soapy water. I've never done that. They certainly look fine. I sent some of the info to my brother. I'll give him a call today. But I'm feeling pretty incompetent here. Just looked up "gas grill repair," and that front looks to be hopeless. It's not like I actually need a gas grill, or for that matter couldn't afford to just go out and buy a new one. More like I've taken an uncertain problem and turned it into a definitive failure.

Woke up feeling pretty melancholy. The grill dampened my spirit. Music Week is finally out, and Loose Tabs is still in the wind, with no real pressure to wrap it up. I've decided to go with Arambula for the roof, but haven't gotten their latest proposal back, so that's frustrating. I had trouble reading this morning. Doug's coming over this afternoon, so we can take some measurements of the attic. I should start ahead of him. Meanwhile, so blasé.

Email (54 messages):

• Substack daily stats: 103 views, 3 likes, 1 free subscription.
• Gary Finney wrote a nice comment on the NOEL post, starting: "I too am old enough to remember the personfiication of evil with Richard Nixon." Also "Thanks for ALL that you do!"
• Christian Iszchak: mostly familiar, including a first venture into jazz with Marshall Allen; I should recheck.
• Mazin Qumsiyeh: usual mailer, no reference to me, but some stuff of possible interest. He's using Riseup for his listserver. Seems like I've looked at them before, but I took another look today, and seems like a group I might like getting to know. No idea whether they can or would help with any of my actual email needs.
• Larry Hollis: looks like he's first to vote again (RTF attachment, so I'll need to circle back to see).
• Phil Overeem suggests some of his Columbia MO chums as possible voters.
• Robert Wright on how things seem to be spinning out of control, but maybe that's just because America is?

Daily Log

I was too tired last night to finish Music Week, so I thought it best to hold it another day. It should go out fairly early today. I got the Substack post out about 7, and the jazzpoll letter about 10. I also set up, but didn't populate, the jpmedia list. I need to finish that and send out an initial email today. I wrote about those in Music Week. Then I took a detour and wrote up an answer to a question about my reading list. Actually, it was more of a lecture, ordering me to read five books by right-wing creeps who present as libertarians, less to hide their prejudices than to rationalize their consequences. It was funny that "Johnny" described my reading as "leftoid la la land," when what I read is mostly critical history, and what he is offering instead is little more than a hallucinatory dystopia. I wrote two paragraphs on this. Holding back gives me the chance to add one more, and maybe an alternative list, although that will be hard to select.

Got up close to 10, and read some of Sarah Maza's Thinking About History.

That was my original thought for following The Shock of the Anthropocene, but in the meantime I picked up a library book for a quick scan, got about 60 pages into it, and wrote a note on it in NOEL: Marcel Dirsus, How Tyrants Fall and How Nations Survive. It was due on Saturday, but I got a note from the Library that they renewed it for me (along with Noah Giansiracusa's Robin Hood Math: Take Control of the Algorithms Thta Run Your Life, which I've yet to open). The only book they didn't renew was Dorie Greenspan's Baking With Dorie, so I need to plan a Library trip anyway. The latter is available pretty cheap on Amazon, as is a somewhat earlier book that looks possibly more attractive. I did order a used copy of one of the thin Indonesian cookbooks (Sallie Morris), which gives me enough should I want to reprise the birthday dinner. Looking forward, I have the new Padma Lakshmi cookbook in my shopping cart, and I have my eyes on a Chinese fusion cookbook, similar to Lakshmi's notion that true American food nowadays is a melting pot of all the world's tastes. I'm living proof of that.

Laura wanted to watch Pluribus last night, so we slogged through the first episode. It was objectively horrible, but necessary I suppose to set up the premise, which is what might happen if the entirety of humankind were merged into a single, uniformly ordered hive mind — only a slight reduction of the Florida educational agends championed by Ron DeSantis — with only a dozen or so "immune" exceptions. Much of the episode threatened to turn into a zombie apocalypse series, but took a "kinder, gentler" turn toward the end. Probably up to Laura whether we ever watch it again. I don't feel the need, nor do I have much interest in Vince Gilligan. At this point I'd be more curious about going back to pick up on Mrs. Davis (2023), another much-hyped series which Laura gave up on after one episode. I could probably rack my brain for more shows like that. I'm not much of a sci-fi fan, but I wound up watching Westworld a couple seasons longer than Laura did (although it got progressively stupider, and I think there's yet another season I haven't started). There was another example from last year I'd have to search for. (The Murder at the End of the World. In searching for it, I noticed Squid Game, which Laura liked but I don't recall seeing at all.)

Still waiting to finalize the roofing deal, but haven't heard back from Arambula. DHI called, and I tried to let them down. I'm thinking I'll go out to Lowe's today and swap propane tanks. After a few cold days, it's warmed up a bit, so would be good to deal with the gas grill. I have Doug coming over on Friday, so we can start figuring out the attic plan. I ordered some 2x4 hangers from Amazon. It's been hard to find the right parts at Lowe's, or even Home Depot. First thing I want to do is to hang some 2x4s between two large beams so we can deck the corridor from the central platform to the south wall. From there we can start to build out, but as the roof narrows down, you don't need as much weight-bearing structure. I assume something similar can be done to the north, but haven't looked at it closely. In any case, we need measurements and a drawing to figure out how much material to shop for.

The carport frame needs are straightforward. It extends out 12 feet, with a length of 20 feet, so we need 44 feet of 2x4 and 1x4, plus a 4x4 for the posts. It looks like I should apply a sealer to the wood, but only after it has dried out, so after several months. I may have made a mistake treating the shed ramp too early. I need to disassemble the railing and build the new frame before the roofers start. Presumably, I'll have a couple weeks to do that, and it won't take long once we start on it.

Email (36 messages):

• Substack new subscribers: William Marx, John Moore
• Lydia Liebman's 2025 list. I should checklist it.
• TomDispatch: Greg Grandin, A Murder Incorporated Tale of the Drug Wars
• Replies to Jazzpoll post: Mike Shanley, Laurence Donohue-Greene, Elzy Kolb
• SiriusXM: "We really want you listening to SiriusXM again." But I never listened once during my trial period, which I never wanted. I wonder whether their deal with Toyota contributed to Toyota's bad decision not to offer a CD player. I might have replied to that effect, but the mail was sent from noreply@mc.siriusxm.com, so obviously they don't want to hear from me (or anyone else). I unsubscribed.
• DownBeat: Evidently Jack DeJohnette won their Readers Poll HOF vote, just days before he died. I'm not especially surprised. He's been close for a long time now.

Music Week

Expanded blog post, November archive (in progress).

Tweet: Music Week: 41 albums, 7 A-list

Music: Current count 45120 [45079] rated (+41), 16 [14] unrated (+2).

New records reviewed this week:

• Rodrigo Amado: The Bridge: Further Beyond (2023 [2025], Trost): [cd]: A-
• Armand Hammer & the Alchemist: Mercy (2025, Backwoodz Studioz/Rhymesayers): [sp]: B+(***)
• Ashnikko: Smoochies (2025, Parlophone): [sp]: B+(***)
• Martin Bejerano: The Purple Project (2025, Figgland): [cd]: B- [11-21]
• Danny Brown: Stardust (2025, Warp): [sp]: B+(***)
• David Broza & Omer Avital: Brozajazz: Paris Alhambra (2024 [2025], Magenta): [sp]: B+(***)
• Joy Crookes: Juniper (2025, Insanity): [sp]: A-
• Sam Dillon: My Ideal (2024 [2025], Cellar Music): [sp]: B+(**)
• Stella Donnelly: Love and Fortune (2025, Dot Dash): [sp]: B+(**)
• Chandler Dozier: Bakersfield East (2025, self-released, EP): [sp]: B+(***)
• Jakob Dreyer: Roots and Things (2025, Fresh Sound New Talent): [cd]: B+(***) [11-14]
• R.A.P. Ferreira & Kenny Segal: The Night Green Side of It (2025, Ruby Yacht/Alpha Pup): [bc]: B_(***)
• Hannah Frances: Nested in Tangles (2025, Fire Talk): [sp]: B
• Joshua Hedley: All Hat (2025, New West): [sp]: B+(**)
• Nicholas Jamerson: The Narrow Way (2025, Cloverdale): [sp]: B+(**)
• Jess Jocoy: Cul-De-Sac Kid (2025, self-released): [sp]: B+(**)
• Tyler Keith: I Confess (2025, Black & Wyatt): [bc]: B+(*)
• Brennen Leigh: Don't You Ever Give Up on Love (2025, Signature Sounds): [sp]: A-
• Thomas Morgan: Around You Is a Forest (2024 [2025], Loveland Music): [cd]: A-
• The Mountain Goats: Through This Fire Across From Peter Balkan (2025, Thirty Tigers): [sp]: A-
• Raphaël Pannier Quartet: Live in Saint Louis, Senegal (2024 [2025], Miel Music): [cd]: B+(***)
• Rosalía: Lux (2025, Columbia): [sp]: B+(*)
• Brandon Sanders: Lasting Impression (2025, Savant): [cd]: B+(**)
• Mark Sherman: Bop Contest (2025, Miles High): [sp]: B+(**)
• Nick Shoulders: Refugia Blues (2025, Gar Hole): [sp]: B+(**)
• Laura Ann Singh: Mean Reds (2025, Out of Your Head): [sp]: B+(**)
• Snocaps: Snocaps (2025, Anti-): [sp]: A-
• Mavis Staples: Sad and Beautiful World (2025, Anti-): [sp]: A-
• WNC WhopBezzy/70th Street Carlos: Out the Blue (2025, WNC): [sp]: B+(**)

Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries:

• Melvin Gibbs: Amasia: Anamibia Sessions 2 (2006-25 [2025], Hausu Mountain): [sp]: B+(**)
• Mike LeDonne's Groover Quartet: Turn It Up! (2004-24 [2025], Cellar Music, 2CD): [sp]: B+(**)
• Joseph Kamaru: Heavy Combination 1966-2007 (1966-2007 [2025], Disciples): [sp]: A-

Old music:

• Ashnikko: Weedkiller (2023, Parlophone): [sp]: B+(**)
• Melvin Gibbs: Anamibia Sessions 1: The Wave (2022, Editions Mego): [sp]: B-
• The Staple Singers: The Staple Swingers (1971, Stax): [sp]: B+(*)
• The Staple Singers: Be Altitude: Respect Yourself (1972, Stax): [sp]: B+(**)
• The Staple Singers: Be What You Are (1973, Stax): [sp]: B+(*)
• The Staple Singers: City in the Sky (1974, Stax): [sp]: B+(**)
• Mavis Staples: Mavis Staples (1969, Volt): [sp]: B+(**)
• Mavis Staples: Only for the Lonely (1970, Volt): [sp]: B+(*)

Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:

• Lena Bloch/Kyoko Kitamura: Marina (Fresh Sound New Talent) [11-14]
• Juan Chiavassa: Fourth Generation (Whirlwind) [10-10]
• Satoko Fujii Quartet: Burning Wick (Libra) [11-21]
• Jung Stratmann Quartet: Confluence (self-released) [12-03]
• Ted Rosenthal Trio: Classics Reimagined: Impromp2 (TMR) [10-17]
• Mark Sherman: Bop Contest (Miles High) **
• Carolyn Trowbridge: Found Memories (self-released) [01-09]

Daily Log

Yesterday was stressful, but I did manage to make substantial progress on my Substack post. But I was dead tired when I got back to the computer after TV, so decided to hold off on sending it until today. Laura objected to my dismissal of Mamdani, so I need to do a bit of work on that section. (Mostly I'll punt, until I can collect more Loose Tabs links.) Much of yesterday was taken up by errands. I went to the dentist, and got the "permanent" filling to repair the hole in the old crown. Insurance had run out, so this cost me $220 for about 10 minutes work. The dentist hadn't seen Dr. Divine's report (but found it, so use the verb "noticed"). I had basically decided to try to ignore the tooth: while it still bothers me, it doesn't rank especially high on my list of aches and pains.

From there, I drove by Watermark Books, and browsed a bit. Most tempting was a cookbook by Padma Lakshmi, Padma's All American, which has a wide range of what I think of as non-American recipes, adapted (or adopted?) somehow. I gather there's a TV show behind her. I recognized the name as some sort of celebrity, but don't know the details. Gorgeous book, though, and right up my alley. I didn't find much in history, and didn't even find a politics section. Next I went to Eddy's Toyota. The tire pressure light had came on, and I had trouble deciphering the details. Car only has 600 miles on it, and I'm perpetually mad at it and them anyway, so I figured I'd let them deal with it. They did, and didn't charge me anything. From there, I went to Lowe's, to look around for insulation, deck construction materials, brackets, hangers, not sure what else. I found very little that interested me, so I came away thinking I need to do my shopping online, even if I go back to pick up what I want. When I do, I'll probably go to Home Depot instead.

Finally, I stopped at N&J's to pick up dinner: kafta platter, chicken shawarma platter, grape leaves, cabbage rolls. Their prices are up at least 50% from pre-pandemic, but they're still in business, and the food is good. I came home, and took the dog out for a quick walk. It was quicker than expected: he found and snatched up a piece of road-kill pizza, so I just turned him around. I had my own food waiting, and knew he wouldn't let it go until he got home and could devour it. I worked some more on my piece. We watched the final episode of the first season of The Gold. It ends when they figure out there is still another £13 million in gold bullion unaccounted for — enough for a second season.

Slept ok. Got up and reworked the Mamdani section a bit. I was having trouble trying to figure out what to listen to next. Then I got Christgau's Consumer Guide, which has several good suggestions, but I figured I should do the cutover on Music Week before getting into more new stuff. Music Week still won't appear until after the Substack goes out, but I have plenty to go with already.

Email (24 messages):

• William Marx: Ok on my call to hire out extra essays, but budget is $1700. I was expecting a bit more, so need to think about this. He'd be happy for more social media boost, but doesn't expect much.
• Laura sent a link to a Facebook post by Cory Robin, which refers to a Thomas Edsall article. I've added both to Loose Tabs.
• Joe Walsh has been elected to Rock & Roll HOF. His one great song gets a half-dozen references here.
• The Wichita Public Library renewed 6 of 7 books I have checked out. The exception is Baking With Dorie, so that's still due 11-14.
• Robert Christgau's Consumer Guide: November, 2025. I wrote some about this in my Substack post. Need to do the website update.
• My Substack post came out. I got 2 quick likes.
• I redeemed Bandcamp codes for a couple of Fonstret albums. I've sat on the invites for a long time, but I was reminded of them by other email.

Daily Log

Woke up early. Finished The Shock of the Anthropocene. Tried to go back to sleep, but didn't. Came downstairs at 9:30. Yesterday's dentist appointment didn't work out, so it's been rescheduled for today, at 2. Car aggravated me: tire pressure light came on; I fiddled with the app, and was able to see tire pressures of 30-30-30-29; I tried to exit the app, but couldn't; when I logged out, I couldn't log in again; I consulted the manual; it told me to look at a sticker on the door; I couldn't read it, so took a picture, and eventually discerned that the prescribed tire pressure is 33-35; when I turn the car on, I get some kind of tire pressure warning message about back 2 tires, but not the numbers, and I can't find them on the info screen. I drove home, after picking up some Chinese. I contemplated driving to the dealer, but had to meet the roofer at 3. Also considered blasting something at the salesman. Looks like I'm going to be hating on them forever.

I had a good discussion with the roofers. Tom James brought his son, Mike, who seems pretty knowledgeable about roofing. Main point was to calculate how much ventilation is needed for the roof. Ridge is 38 feet, but the ridge vent can be somewhat less. He figured that we need eight soffit vents, each 18-inches long, so 4 under each eave. They make ventilated soffit vinyl material, but it's unclear whether they can remove the current vinyl, cut the holes, and add it, or cut straight through the vinyl and add external grates. The former would look better, but I'm ok either way. We went up into the attic, and he had some helpful thoughts on improving it. He emphasized that the important insulation is floor level, with unobstructed ventilation. He thought it would be easy enough to push the loose rock wool away from the soffit vents from below when they are cut. He wants to seal off the gable vents.

We also looked at the carport. They're thinking about applying a second layer of mod bit, although he'll also give me a quote on EPMD rubber. I explained my plan for remounting the railing: building a level platform and mounting the railing on top of it. I committed to taking the old railing down and constructing that. I think they're going to leave the air conditioner in place, rather than try to lift and re-roof under it. I'm waiting for them to get back with updated quote numbers before I sign, but the decision is pretty much made.

I decided yesterday to hold off Music Week until I got the Substack written. I made some progress yesterday, but not enough. I'll work on it some more today. I also want to send the preliminary letter out to the jazz poll voters. Those are both things that I can summarize in the eventual Music Week, which probably won't happen until tomorrow. One house project yesterday was to clean out the refrigerator. We threw a bunch of old and/or useless stuff away, with one homemade chutney dated back to 2010. That's probably about the age of the refrigerator. I need to look into service on it. Refrigeration is superb, but the ice/water system has a leak (creating a glacier in the bottom of the compartment, locking the deli tray); I have a replacement for a broken caster, but I'd have to drag it out and lift it up to fix that; some plastic bits have broken. Still, it's very cold, and very big, which makes it a very tight install/remove. I also like having two ice makers, although at this stage, both are more/less broken. I have the bottom one turned off how, and am just using the tray for ice cubes from trays. It's not a bad system, but hurts to bend over. Maybe time to shop for a new one? Laura's long been in favor of that.

Email (24 messages):

• Senator Marshall Salutes Our Heroes on Veterans Day
• TomDispatch: Helen Benedict, Teaching at Donald Trump's Version of Columbia University

Daily Log

Got up before 9, 85 on the meter, just under 5 hours. I decided to stay up, as I have the dentist at 1, and a roofer at 3. Weighed myself for the first time since my birthday, and I'm up 8 pounds, to 209. Some fairly obvious ways to work on that. Nearing the end of my book, so need to decide what's next. Lots to choose from, including a couple from the library I haven't opened. Library books due 11-15. I did order a used copy of one of the Indonesian cookbooks (Sallie Morris, Cooking Around the World: Indonesian; I also looked for The Bali Cookbook, but couldn't find it). I added a couple recipes yesterday, including two Indonesian recipes (duck, eggplant), and updated the planning file to account for some leftovers. I also just ordered Paul Heideman's Rogue Elephant: How Republicans Went From the Party of Business to the Party of Chaos, which Cory Robin likes.

I failed to make any real progress on a Substack post yesterday, or for that matter on Loose Tabs. I'm thinking about holding back Music Week until I get one done. Maybe even announcing as much. I also want to get the preliminary letter out to the poll voter list. Both are worth writing about in Music Week, but as faits accomplis, not as speculation. I'm thinking about email lists again. Mostly thinking that they're overpriced and overfeatured. Maybe best to continue rolling my own.

Email (13 messages):

• Pi Recordings EOY roundup: 5 releases. I'd handicap 4 of them for poll finishes: Steve Lehman won mid-year, but Fieldwork (with Vijay Iyer and Lehman) could take some of his votes away, so I figure them both for top-10, probably top-5. Henry Threadgill and Dan Weiss should be top-30. Julia Úlehla and Dálava's Understories will fall behind: may get some vocal votes, but Salvant is probably once again a lock.

Daily Log

Yesterday seems like another waste, mostly because I got so little done of what I had hoped for. In particular, I'm no closer to being able to send a Substack post out. I added no more han 10 items to Loose Tabs, so it is still far from finished. One small decision: to simply call my odds & sods posts "Notes on Everyday Life." I thought about numbering or dating them. I guess I'm leaning to the overall posts sequence numbers, since I'm using them for the local archives. This one should be a brief intro, then short bits on recent issues, mostly derived from Loose Tabs: elections and shutdown are the obvious news topics; I have a couple pieces on health care costs; I should say something about Dick Cheney and Jack DeJohnette; maybe a couple notes on books: the one I'm reading, and maybe a couple that caught my eye; and for music, a couple of sneak peaks from Music Week. That seems like a pretty substantial menu, and how hard can it be?

My plan was to write Substack yesterday, then do a comparison of the roofing bids today. I should still do the latter, especially if I want to make a decision by Wednesday. Yesterday's notebook entry gives me some clarity about how to deal with the carport rail and the attic ventilation/insulation. I guess that's progress. I can use the other two bids to sanity check Arambula's more cryptic bid, making sure everything is covered. I don't look forward to turning Hometown down, but that's business. DHI hasn't put as much work into their bid, and I doubt they're very optimistic. But their bid is probably the one I'll compare the others against, if only because it lines up most closely to the insurance claim. One thing I need to understand better is how much is in the claim that I'm not doing. The full DHI bid comes to $24,000, and Hometown's damage estimate (not their bid) is over $45,000. The amount of undone work poses a possible issue with insurance going forward. The whole thing is pretty creepy.

Instead of writing my post, I wrote some letters yesterday. One to publicist Mark Gorney was fairly pro forma. Letters to William Marx and Terry Gross followed up on poll business. In the former, I proposed taking some of their budget and using it to hire out more essays. In the latter, I repeated my Francis Davis website pitch. No immediate answer. I also wrote Jeffrey St. Clair, and asked him to consider running some of my writing in Counterpunch. He responded and will look into it. I did get a bit done on some house tasks, but mostly just prep for working later. I cleared the table in the pantry, so it can be moved elsewhere. Next stop will be the kitchen: my idea there is to take everything out of the refrigerator, question its value, throw away whatever doesn't make sense to stay (possibly some old stuff to replace), clean the shelves, then restock it. We'll try to do that today. Shouldn't take more than a couple hours. Then I can fold the table up, until I need it somewhere else.

We also went to grocery store, and picked up fish at Blalock's. Watched two episodes of The Gold last night, and skipped through Saturday Night Live. Made some nice progress on the jigsaw puzzle. Email (10 messages):

• Paul Medrano and Jon Garelick responded to the jpadmin email. Medrano has an updated voter spreadsheet, so I should work with hat.

I added a couple recipes, linked to in the updated "leftovers" section of the birthday dinner plan. I especially wanted to get the Indonesian duck and eggplant recipes jotted down, as they came from a library book.

Daily Log

Generally lousy day yesterday, at least in the sense of how little I managed to get done. About the only thing I can point to is jigsaw puzzle, which today as well is what I'd rather spend my time working on. The roof decision is leaning toward Arambula, mostly due to our personal connection with Tom James. I doubt I'm going to get any good answers on attic insulation, but the focus on soffit vents should help a bit. It seems like it should be possible to rake the rock wool back from the soffit edges to allow air flow, then secure that by putting a rim of thin material nailed to the rafters. I'm thinking we put plywood down the central corridors. For the rest of the attic floor, I'm thinking about loose-laying insulation sheets, possibly topped with 0.5-inch OSB (or maybe thinner?). There's not enough headroom to stand up there, so at most one can crawl toward the periphery, or use them as storage shelving. I had been thinking about adding furring strips to the joists to raise them, which is possible but may not be necessary. Once this is done, we can add batt or foam insulation to the ends, and possibly to the underside of the roof itself. At least I would like to cover up the nails.

I've refined the carport rail frame design a bit. Instead of using two side 1x4 pieces, I'm thinking of just using one on the outside, and possibly going with a 2x4 for the cross beam. The side piece should keep the cross beam from sagging, which the 2x4 will be less likely to do anyway. It occurs to me that I can take the railing down, then build and loose-fit the frame in place, without securing it to the roof. Then the roofers can come in, do their thing, and figure out how to attach it. Reinstalling the railing at that point should be pretty easy. I can get Doug to help with the carport rail frame and the attic work, and do much of that before the roofers show up. I guess figuring that much out is something to show for the day.

But no writing to speak of. We went out for dinner at Sushiya, and were disappointed. I wound up eating a lot of junk afterwards, which I suppose underscore the disappointment. I didn't get any writing done, even several letters I started. I want to focus on that today, then on Sunday to look at the roofing proposals and compare them closely. But I'm tired and frustrated now. Woke up a bit after 9. Read some. Came down after 10. Wrote this. Now I'm going to work on the jigsaw a bit, then eat breakfast, then see if I can write a bit. I also want to get several minor house tasks done today: move the table out of the pantry, move the wires under the kitchen sink, put up Laura's plant holders, add a bit of trim to the bathroom sink cabinet. Maybe I'll get back to the grill, but I suspect that can wait. Pretty clear what to do there: swap the propane tank, see if I can light it manually, and if I can, order a replacement for the igniter. No rush on any of that.

Email (8 messages):

• Got a book via Amazon: Richard Gilman-Opalsky, Imaginary Power, Real Horizons: The Practicality of Utopianism

Daily Log

DHI brought their roofing quote over. Comes out to $24,000 and change, of which the main roof ($12,500) and carport ($3,200) are the immediate concerns. Those are the only things I have competing bids for. I need to lay the three bids out and pick one. Differences largely turn on roof venting, which for me raises questions about attic insulation. I'm also thinking a lot about the carport roof. Perhaps that's just the one part of the project I can most easily visualize, although it's the part the roofers have the most trouble figuring.

Watched the first of a two-part Maigret last night, followed by post-election Seth Myers and Jimmy Kimmel. The election results were so favorable to Democrats that it feels like the tide has turned, and now we have them on the run. Not really, but there's a hint of that, and Republicans are becoming increasingly unhinged. Woke up before 7, then again after 10. Not a great night's sleep. I decided yesterday to do an odds & sods post on Substack. Original idea was some "quick thoughts" on the election, but I can pull some stuff from Loose Tabs, note a couple books, includes a couple capsule record reviews (which would offer a sneak peak ahead of Music Week). Should be easy, but I didn't get much done on that last night.

Email (46 messages, Friday is release day):

I called Mr. Handyman to talk about roof insulation. They don't do consulation, at least onsite, without a charge, and their basic charge is $124/hour. Not very helpful. I talked to Tom James about ventilation, including the need for soffit vents. He allowed that they weren't in his bid, so may cost extra. I've also been giving more thought to the carport/patio. I looked a bit at alternative flat roof covers, like rubber (EMD) and TPO, and also covering treatments (cheaper, various kinds of plastics). I also looked at some patio flooring. The most promising there are 1x1 snap-together tiles made out of plastic, wood, and/or bamboo, which run from $3-6 per sq ft Patio is approx. 12x20, so 240 sq ft. No obvious answers there. Main thing I'm thinking about doing is to build a frame for the railing. This would consist of a 20 ft beam along the outside, constructed with three 1x4 treated pieces in an inverted U, set on top of 4x4 posts. These would hook into 2 similar 10 ft beams for the sides, extending out from the house. The posts would compensate for the roof slope, so the frame would be level

Daily Log

Watched the last two episodes of Task last night. It was essentially done by episode five, but stretched out in six with an extended and ultimately unsatisfied action sequence. HBO's "inside the episode" trailers spent a lot more time patting themselves on the back than seemed merited. In particular, they insisted that we should have more emotional empathy for their compromised but "good guy" characters than I, for one, could muster. We finished the 5th season of Only Murders in the Building the night before. At least I think we saw it all: we got lost mid-season and watched at least one episode out of sequence. Despite the jumble (which wasn't just our fault), possibly the most enjoyable season yet.

Woke up before 8, after a sleep the machine rated 70, with an AHI of 5.0. I read some, then tried going back to sleep, and didn't get up until after noon. The downstairs UPS was buzzing, so I had to reset it. Got a book (Dahlia Scheindlin's The Crooked Timber of Democracy in Israel) and some tools from Amazon (a 73-piece screwdriver kit including a complete set of nutdriver bits; I needed an 8mm to work on the grill, and had to dig one out of the big socket set -- which I still need to drag out to the garage to find a wrench that will work on the igniter). I worked on the grill yesterday. Made some progress at taking it apart, but ran into more frustrations, which will take more wrenches. Only thing scheduled for today is I have a roofer coming over at 5:30 to present a bid. I did some research on ridge vents last night, and sent a question off to Arambula.

Email (34 messages):

• New from OR Books: Robin Andersen: The Complicit Lens: US Media Coverage of Israel's Genocide in Gaza.
• TomDispatch: Beverly Gologorsky, "How Dare Trump Tarnish Your Golden Years!"

Daily Log

After getting up early yesterday, I stayed up until about 2:30, by which time I was totally exhausted. Got up around 9 today, after machine had turned itself off. Read some, a fairly broad sweep of technological, social, economic, and political developments over the last couple centuries, the so-called Anthropocene. Fits in with my general impressions, although I'm struck by how much of this has happened within my own lifetime (since 1950).

Thought I'd try to figure out how to get the old phone lines taken down. Turns out to be very difficult just to figure out who to call. I'm waiting for a callback from AT&T right now, but odds aren't good that anyone doing that will have an answer. I was also thinking I should shop for a tree service, and to get some advice on insulating the attic. I did get a bid from Arambula for the roof. It is competitive with the Hometown bid, the main difference that it does not include work on the carport. One technical difference is that it includes a ridge vent instead of the two turtle vents we currently have. Decision will likely come down to these two companies.

I did further research on the grill yesterday. I have a better idea how to get to the manifold now, as well as to the igniters. The igniters should have batteries, which are undoubtedly dead by now, so need to be replaced. They do have wires, which appear to be secure. Another possible problem is the propane tank. These have a nominal lifespan of 12 years, and I have the original (refilled several times, but never replaced), so it is 24 years old. Looks like I should be able to swap my tank for a full tank, so I should probably do that. I looked at replacements a bit, but didn't see anything particularly attractive.

I got a letter from Clifford Ocheltree. He mentions something called "decision fatigue," and I'm certainly running into a lot of that. One suggestion there is to focus on decisions early in the day. That may be part of the reason why I'm opening each day with writing, even though hardly anyone is likely to read these ramblings.

Email (18 messages):

• Someone in Argentina asks: "Will you ever review Soda Stereo's albums? Have you heard one of their songs?"
• Mazin Qumsiyeh: more links, none mine.
• Riot Riot: album caps. Yes [? unheard]: Snocaps, Snocaps [?]; KeiyaA, Hooke's Law [?]; CMAT, Euro-Country [A-]; Hailey Whitters, Corn Queen [A-]; Ashnikko, Smoochies [?]; Militarie Gun, God Save the Gun [?]; Lily Allen, West End Girl [***]; Big Thief, Double Infinity [A-]; Imperial Triumphant, Goldstar [?]; Cardi B, Am I the Drama? [**]. Maybe: Jane Remover, Revengeseekerz [?]; Machine Gun Kelly, Lost Americana [?]; Machine Girl, PsychoWarrior: MG Ultra X [?]; Miguel, Caos [?]; Bar Italia, Some Like It Hot [A-]; Yeule, Evangelic Girl Is a Gun [**]; Oklou, Choke Enough [**]. No: Caroline, Caroline 2 [B]; Sleep Token, Even in Arcadia [?].
• Jpadmin response from: Robert Hoff. Also, John Chacona subscribed to Substack.
• Georgia Christgau guest post on Robert Christgau's Substack.

Daily Log

Laura has a 9:20 doctor appointment. I offered to drive her, so she set the alarm for 8. I was fairly deep into a dream with it started to kick off, but woke up surely enough. Got up at 8:20, less than 5 hours on the machine (sleep score 80), and came down at 8:40. Got Music Week out late last night. Starts with a long note on cooking last week, then talks a bit about the Jazz Critics Poll. I sent the jpadmin letter out about 10 PM. Got it back, but no further response when I got up. I figure I'll probably stay up after we get back. I have a roofer coming over around 1, and Laura has another doctdor appointment for 2:45. She figures we should go out and vote after that, then dinner at Molino's.

Back from doctor's office at 10:30. We finished the jigsaw puzzle. Email is up to 27 messages:

I haven't been able to use my gas grill for several years. Obvious problem at the time was grease build up which led to a fire. Obvious solution was to do a fairly deep clean. After I did that, I got the front burner to ignite, but not the middle and back burners. There it sat for several years. Recently, I did a much deeper cleaning. But I wasn't able to get it to light. I tried the side burner, and it did light, partially. Checking the serial number, it appears that the model is Weber Genesis Silver C. Here is the Owners Guide. I've also found one-page PDF files for Gas Catcher Igniter Installation Instructions and

To replace the burner tubes:

1. Remove control knobs.
2. Remove screws through slots in trim.
3. Pull up igniter button until it sticks in up position, and remove control panel from grill.
4. Unhook the manifold bracket and unscrew the two nuts that hold the manifold to the cooking box. Pull the manifold assembly out of the burners and carefully set it down.
5. That's all for the page, but the far end of the tubes is held in place by two screws. Remove them, and you should be able to remove the burner tubes.

While propane doesn't "go bad," the tanks have a limited lifetime, typically 12 years. As I'm still using my original tank (24 years old), that is suspicious. Check stamp on the tank's collar for manufacture date. There appears to be less propane in the tank than I remembered, so it might be a good idea to swap it out.

Mar 2001